Tessa Scott Holistic Nutrition & Wellness

11/11/2022

Yes, you read that correctly!

If we look at the total energy provided by breastmilk, it consists of approx. 40-50% fat. Babies need fat for optimal development of their brains, building a strong immune system and for absorption of fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K. The amount of fat in breastmilk gives us an idea of how much they need for their growth and development going forward with solids.

There are four different types of fat – saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and trans. The foods they are in are as follows:

🍗 Saturated fats are found in animal products such as meat and dairy, and in coconuts.

🥜 Monounsaturated fats are found in foods such as nuts, seeds, olive oil and avocado.

🐟 Polyunsaturated fats (also known as omega-3 and omega-6) are found in nuts, seeds, fish and some leafy green vegetables.

🍰 Trans fats are artificially made and found in refined and processed foods.

We want to be offering lots of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat foods, some saturated fat foods and be steering well and truly clear of the trans fats!

03/11/2022

Ahhhh Vetiver…

I have been using this essential oil a lot lately. It might not be one that you have in the collection, but definitely worth adding. Vetiver is relaxing and beneficial for anyone experiencing stress, anxiety, depression or insomnia. It’s also great for those feeling physical and mental exhaustion or like they are in burnout mode. It’s a great oil to have on hand at this time of year as we all start to feel tired and look forward to the holidays.

While I mainly use it to help me get to sleep and with anxiety, Vetiver is also great for those with PMS or going through menopause. It can help to regulate hormones and has a grounding and cooling effect (which is helpful for those hot flushes).

Vetiver can be used topically and in the diffuser. For sleeping either massage a small drop into the wrists or bottoms of your feet (it has quite a strong smell, so the feet are a good option). For arthritis or musculoskeletal pains you can massage a few drops onto affected areas (mix with some fractionated coconut oil to use over a larger area). You could also use it in a diffuser to help with anxiety or going to sleep. Make sure you are sure to test a small patch of skin before using to make sure you don’t have any reactions.

If you want to use it with the little ones to help with sleep, simply mix a drop with some carrier oil (like fractionated coconut oil) and massage into the bottoms of their feet. 🥰

28/10/2022

⭐️ NEW RESOURCE! ⭐️

Highchair refusal is a common problem in toddlers, so I’ve created this downloadable resource to help you out Mumma!

Head over to my website (link in bio) to get your free copy of my Highchair Refusal resource. All the tips and tricks to help with getting your toddler to stay seated while they are eating!

11/05/2022

Lavender, one of my all-time favourite herbs! 🌿

Most people have this herb growing in their garden and have experienced the amazing aroma that it provides. The oil that is found within the flowers, leaves and stems has relaxing, sedative, antispasmodic and antiseptic activity.

Most people will have come across lavender essential oil which is where the oils have been pressed from the plant and collected. Each drop of essential oil is very potent, so only a few drops are needed to get the effects mentioned above. You can use this essential oil in a diffuser for inhalation or combined with a carrier oil topically on the skin (test first to make sure you don’t have any reactions).

I use lavender topically for burns, bites, fungal infections as well as on cuts and pimples. It is one of my number one go-to products in my first aid kit! I also use the essential oil in a diffuser to help with going to sleep and when I have anxiety. It’s great for calming kids and helping them get to sleep – either use in the diffuser or rub some oil on the bottom of their feet before they hop in bed. 😴

25/04/2022

Yes that’s right. PMS is not normal and you don’t have to suffer with it.

PMS is caused by your hormones being out of balance, mainly oestrogen and progesterone. During your menstrual cycle you are supposed to have higher estrogen from day 1-14, and then progesterone takes over as the dominant hormone from days 14-27.

If you have adequate levels of progesterone over day 14-27 then you are less likely to suffer from PMS. Progesterone has some fabulous effects, such as being an anti-anxiety agent, antidepressant and diuretic. You can imagine that if you have low progesterone, your mood might be affected or you might feel puffy and bloated in the lead up to your period.

Progesterone also buffers the effects of oestrogen. Oestrogen rises from day 1 of the menstrual cycle, laying down the lining of the uterus in preparation for conception. It is the hormone that makes you feel great in those first two weeks, boosting your serotonin levels and giving you energy. But, sometimes we can have too much oestrogen for various reasons, especially in the lead up to our period. Oestrogen dominance, as it is known, can be the cause of your premenstrual irritability, mood swings, breast tenderness, headaches, bloating and fluid retention.

The good news is that PMS does not have to be your normal. It pays to get some hormone testing done to see where your hormones are at over your cycle. This way you can work out exactly where your hormones are going wrong. Once you know this, there are a number of diet and lifestyle changes that you can put in place, as well as herbs and supplements you can take to help with symptoms and rebalancing your hormones.

13/03/2022

Broccoli, Courgette and Mushroom Frittata - a super easy tasty lunch (or dinner) option for the wee ones!

It also freezes really well, so you can double up the recipe and freeze portions. We usually get about 4 servings per recipe batch.

28/02/2022

Fruit and veges - how many do you get in each day?

Did you know that 5-a-day is no longer the recommendation? The recommended number of vegetable servings now depends on your gender and age!

So, if you are a male aged 19-50, then your recommendation is to eat 6 servings of VEGETABLES and 2 servings of FRUIT every single day. For women of the same age, it’s 5 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit. It seems like a lot right?

And when we talk about servings, we mean:

🥕 1/2 cup cooked veges such as carrots, broccoli, cabbage, bok choy

🌽 1/2 cup canned veges such as corn or tomatoes

🥒 1 cup leafy green vegetables or raw salad vegetables

🥔 1/2 medium potato or kūmara

🍅 1 medium tomato

🍐 1 medium apple, banana, pear

🥝 2 small apricots, kiwi fruit or plums

🍍 1 cup diced or canned fruit (drained and with no added sugar) such as pineapple

🫐 1 cup frozen fruit such as mango or berries.

Most of us are falling short of these recommendations and it’s easy to see why with the cost of fresh produce being so high. We are also very time poor these days and we need time to prepare these foods to eat. And I get that it is just hard work in general to get all these servings in each day!

So here are some quick ways that I try and get my fruit and veges in each day:

🍓 Eat fruit with breakfast (like blueberries and kiwis on porridge or cereal)

🥦 Take leftovers for lunch which usually has veges in it

🍠 Get a meal bag delivered - they usually have at least 3-4 veges in the meal each night, plus you can bulk them out with other veges like frozen peas/corn and they can be cheaper than buying individual meal ingredients from the supermarket.

09/02/2022

Most girls are told that a normal menstrual cycle lasts for 28 days, so when our periods come earlier or later than this we often believe (or are made to believe) that this is not normal. Newsflash! Everyone is different and what one person’s normal is, isn’t necessarily the same as the next person’s!

Whilst 28 days is always talked about, it is actually the average cycle time across most women, but it also historically corresponds to the moon phase cycle (the moon’s orbit around Earth is 27.3 days and a moon cycle (new moon to new moon) is 29.5 days – the average being 28.4 days).

Cycle length can also change from month to month and can lengthen or shorten depending on our age and where we are in our reproductive life-stage. In the teenage years, cycle length may be irregular which is due to hormone levels adjusting and maturing. It then becomes much more regular during our 20’s and 30’s and then more irregular and erratic as we head towards menopause.

Many things can affect our cycle length and these might include stress, over-exercising, undereating, conditions such as PCOS or endometriosis, thyroid dysfunction and medications. It is our hormones (mainly oestrogen and progesterone) that get affected by these things and thus cause the changes to our cycle length.

But remember, anything between 21-35 days is considered normal, so even if we have different cycle lengths from one month to the next it’s usually ok. If your cycle length is shorter than 21 days, or longer than 35 days then it may pay to check in with your healthcare professional to see if there’s something else going on for you.

03/02/2022

Feeding little people is hard work!

So, I always make sure I have snacks in the freezer ready to go. That way you can just grab them out, defrost them, and have a healthy snack in front of your toddler in seconds (which can still feel like a lifetime when they decide they are hungry)!

These blueberry banana muffins are super simple to make and don’t have any refined sugar in them. You can put blueberries in the batter if you like but I often find that gets a bit messy if you’re out and about, so one on top is a good compromise (it always gets eaten first 😂).

29/01/2022

Vitamin D, one of my favourite vitamins at the moment.

It’s a bit of an odd ball in that, unlike other vitamins, we don’t get much of it through the food we ingest. The majority of our vitamin D comes from sun exposure and as much as 80-100% of our needs can be met this way, with the shortfall made up from food. Vitamin D is found in fatty fish, beef and liver, butter, eggs and fortified foods such as milk.

Our problem, especially down here in New Zealand is that sun exposure poses a hazard to most of us in the form of sunburn, especially during the middle of the day, which is technically the best time for our skin to make vitamin D. In the summer we may not even be getting adequate vitamin D production happening due to covering our skin up through fear of getting burnt, and to be honest we should be careful about this with the rates of melanoma in Australia and New Zealand!

Which means that some of us (or many of us if you live down here in Dunedin) may have low vitamin D status. True vitamin D deficiency results in rickets, which is rarely seen. However, most of us wouldn’t be aware that we were low and the only way to truly know is to have a blood test. Optimal levels are between 75-135 nmol/L.

Deficiency significantly increases the risk of a number of chronic diseases and a recent study has proven it to play a significant role in autoimmunity. It also enhances the immune system’s response, which is very topical at the moment! There have been numerous studies done showing that by having adequate levels of vitamin D, it significantly reduces your chance of mortality, ventilation and hospitalisation and improves recovery and viral clearance for that awful virus circulating at the moment.

So how much should you take? It is a good idea to get a test done to see what your levels are like before you supplement, as it is a vitamin that you can overdose on. To maintain optimal serum concentrations in most people, an intake of 1000 IU (25 mcg) vitamin D3 daily is recommended.

18/01/2022

Digging this beautiful sleepy spray by that my stepsister brought me back from London. A spritz on the pillow and hello sleep! Lavender and vetiver are especially good at helping with sleep and anxiety. Two of my most favourite essential oils!

12/01/2022

It’s that time of year again when resolutions and goals rear their ugly heads.

Instead of focusing on diet, maybe we all need a bit more calm, or meditation, or time in nature. It doesn’t always have to be about losing weight or getting fit. Giving our minds some time and space might be more important, especially with the events that have played out over the last couple of years.

If we aren’t well in our minds then we can’t be well in our bodies. And naturally, if we look after our mental health then we are more likely to make better choices, including what we put in our mouths and how we treat ourselves.

So, do your mind (and ultimately your body) a favour and choose a new habit or daily practice that will put you on the path to wellness. 💕

18/01/2021

Gut health has always been one of my areas of interest, so now that I have a small human to look after and nourish I wanted to make sure I’m doing the right thing by her.

Dr Vincent Ho, a clinical gastroenterologist from Sydney has just released this book with up-to-date guidelines on how to prevent allergies, build immunity and develop good gut health as well as how to introduce the nine most common allergenic foods to your baby. A great read for anyone who is planning on getting pregnant, already pregnant or just had their wee one.

30/07/2020

Always exciting when the gets replenished in our house 😆 🥜

Especially excited to try the new special batch Chilli Peanut Butter 🌶 🥜. Could work a treat in my satay sauce tonight...

21/06/2020

How good are these... Unbleached, chlorine-free compostable muffin baking cups. Love them because they mean less mess and now I don’t have to feel bad about using paper cups that don’t break down. There are a range of these products down at Total Food Equipment Dunedin for anyone in Dunedin who hates using conventional bleached products and wants something more environmentally friendly. 🥰🌳

04/06/2020

This post made my week.

The government announced this week it will be funding period education and supplies for schools. So many girls are unable to attend school due to a situation called “period poverty”, i.e. being unable to afford sanitary items (tampons, pads, cups) making it difficult for them to get out of their house, let alone attend school.

Way to go Jacinda 👏🥰

07/04/2020

Avo season is coming to a close way too fast 😢. Cleaned out the pantry over the weekend and made some seed bread with all the nuts and seeds I could find, including so many leftover My Food Bag nut and seed packets! Great way to use them up. No flour in this bread either and really useful if you are feeling bunged up 💩- imagine many of us aren’t eating as much fresh fruit and veg as we would like! So lunch today, toasted seed bread topped with Avos and a garlic and chilli mix on top👌. If anyone wants the recipe for seed bread let me know 😉

20/03/2020

It’s a very surreal situation right now and the number one thing (apart from hand-washing and keeping physical distance from others) is looking after our mental health.

Be kind, reach out to others, get outside and get some fresh air and take a break from the constant media coverage. Even if you are self-isolating you can still go for a walk or do some exercise (just keep your 2m distance from others!).

Please look after yourselves 😘

COVID-19 is changing our daily lives. It’s important to look after our wellbeing and the wellbeing of our whānau and community as we get through this – together.